FateProto Crossing
by MagusZero
Summary: In a world where the Sajyou fought in the 4th Holy Grail War, two children are rescued from the Great Fuyuki Fire, Emiya Shirou and Sajyou Ayaka. Ten years later, the 5th War looms over them both, and while Ayaka does not trust the son of the Magus Killer, they will have to learn to work together if they are to keep darkness from overrunning the city… and the world.
1. Prologue: Nightmares

**Prologue: Nightmares**

Sajyou Ayaka blinked in disorientation, adjusting her glasses as she tried to clear her vision. What had happened? Where was she? She instinctively felt an oppressive force in the room, some sort of palpable evil threatening to close in and snuff out her pitiful life, but no matter how her being screamed at her body to run she found she could scarcely move.

And then, as her senses returned to her, she heard them, the tortured screams of the dying, and she smelled the stench of the dead all around her. Fighting off her mounting nausea, she fearfully looked around and found herself within a cavernous auditorium. Upon the stage in the center there was a golden cup, shining in the light, and she immediately knew what it was – the Holy Grail of Fuyuki, the wish-granting relic that her older sister, Manaka, and their father, Sajyou Hiroki, had been fighting for against six other teams of mages.

But something was terribly wrong. For out of the Grail spewed forth a continuous stream of an unnatural mud, and she could tell at once that this mud was the source of the evil she had felt. And once the mud reached the ground, it would assume the form of dark tentacles, reaching out to victims who seemed unaware of their impending doom, as if in a trance, and then… burning, dissolving, rending them to death like a voracious monster. She wanted to cry out and warn them, but her voice died in her throat as she noticed another horror. For only meters away from her was her father's dismembered corpse, lying in a pool of his own blood.

"Father!" she screamed after a moment of disbelief.

"Don't worry," an angelic voice said from above her, and at once Ayaka looked up toward her savior. She knew that voice. And sure enough, it was that of her older sister, her golden hair, bright blue eyes, and matching dress untarnished amidst the violence. "It'll be okay. This will soon be over, and then we'll have everything we've always dreamed of." Her words were so calming and spoken with such conviction that Ayaka could not help but believe them. If anyone could save her, it would be her genius sister Manaka. She could stop whatever was wrong with the Grail and bring back Dad. Right?

But Manaka's attention was no longer on her, for she had turned to face someone who had just entered the auditorium.

"Welcome, Emiya Kiritsugu," she said, giving a curtsey. "I had thought that my Servants should have kept you from here. At the very least, you would have had to bring Saber with you. But if you call her here and then promise to stand aside we can finally finish this."

Kiritsugu surveyed the scene, glancing from Manaka, to the Grail, and back again. And then he raised his gun and fired it at Manaka without another word. Her sister tried to defend herself, but it was too late, and the bullet pierced Manaka through her heart. Moments later, violent spasms shook through her body, and she crumpled down like delicate doll whose strings had been cut.

"Why?" Manaka murmured, still struggling to realize that she had been shot. But as the realization that she was dying dawned upon her, tears rolled from her eyes. "I'm…. sorry… that I couldn't… save you…" she managed, and then she died.

Overwhelmed by grief and with her last hope for survival crushed, Ayaka felt her own consciousness slipping away. All she could pray for now was that the end would be quick and that she might see her family again in the next world.

xXx

Fires raged all around the boy amid a devastated landscape filled with rubble, smoke, and the dying. He had been walking through the ruins for so long, and those he passed had pleaded with him for help, but he had forced himself to ignore them. We wanted to live, and if he stopped walking he would die with them. But his strength was quickly giving out, and soon he collapsed, unable to take another step. So that was it. He would die now, and just like all of those others there would be no one to save him. He had been so desperate to live that he had carried on even when he could no longer remember his family or name, but now there was no sense to any of it.

And so he simply watched the flames around him and gazed up at the baleful hole in the sky, saying not a word as his life ebbed away.

But then he heard footsteps approaching through the rubble, and slowly a dark-haired man came into view, carrying the unconscious form of a bespectacled girl with dark brown hair in an arm while his eyes scanned the rubble for other survivors. The girl was about the boy's own age, and he had a passing thought that she looked pretty, but above all he was relieved to see someone who could help him.

There was a dead look in the man's eyes, but as the man knelt down and saw that he was still alive, that was replaced by a look of pure joy. And the boy could not help but feel jealous of the man; it was as if in saving him, the man had saved himself.

The man produced something that glowed brilliantly, and as he was suffused in its light, the boy felt a pleasant warmth welling up within him, carrying him away from the horrors of the fire as his vitality, once moments away from being extinguished, returned. But whatever it was could not change the fact that he was exhausted in body and mind, and before long the boy's eyes fell closed into a restful sleep.


	2. Chapter 1: Death Sentence

**Chapter One: Death Sentence**

Sajyou Ayaka woke with a start, drenched with sweat. She had been having that dream more frequently in the past weeks, a vivid recollection of the worst night of her life, the night she awoke into a nightmare, the night her father was killed, the night she witnessed the Magus Killer murdering her sister, the night that the Holy Grail, touched by a corrupt wish, unleashed the devastation of the Great Fuyuki Fire ten years ago, killing hundreds of people, to say nothing of how many had already been slaughtered by the cursed mud in the auditorium of the Fuyuki Civic Center. Of course, she hadn't seen the fire with her own eyes, as she was unconscious at the time, held limp in the Magus Killer's arm, but she had heard plenty of its aftermath and the agonizing deaths of its victims. And of those who had been caught in the blaze, only the Magus Killer, herself, and a small boy had survived.

Why had Emiya Kiritsugu, the Magus Killer, saved her life after coldly taking her sister's? They were enemies. Of course, Ayaka was grateful to be alive, but she knew she would never forgive Kiritsugu for what he had done. And though she had no proof for it, a part of her mind surmised that he had somehow been the one responsible for the corruption in the Grail, and thus her father's death and the ensuing fire as well; she didn't believe that anything good could have come from the wish of a mercenary like him. And that was why she didn't understand the mercy he had shown her that night. She could have approached the Emiya Residence in the years hence, where Kiritsugu seemed to be lying low with his adoptive son, the other survivor of the fire, Shirou, but she had been too terrified of what Kiritsugu might do to her to dare the attempt. And now it was too late for her to ask him, for Kiritsugu had died five years ago.

In any case, the consensus on the outcome of the 4th Holy Grail War was that the young Sajyou prodigy, Manaka, guided by her father, Hiroki, and defended by her Servant, Caster, had dominated the competition, bringing prominence to the Sajyou, a family that few had imagined would produce a Magus capable of challenging those from long-established families such as the Einzberns, Tohsaka, Matou, or even the Lord El-Melloi from the Clock Tower. There were even rumors that her sister had managed to personally kill a Servant during the war, a feat possible only to the most powerful mages, such as the famed wielder of the Fifth Magic, Aozaki Aoko, who could direct enough firepower through her Magic Circuits to level a city if she wished to. But something or someone had interfered when the Sajyou were on the verge of victory and attaining their goal of reaching the Root, producing the catastrophic fire and leaving Ayaka as the sole surviving Sajyou heiress.

And so she came to be introduced to Kotomine Kirei.

The priest arrived one morning in her hospital room while she was recovering from her ordeal at the civic center. Her actual injuries had been rather light, but she had been exhausted and required several days to rest. Ayaka remembered taking an immediate dislike to the man. There was just something wrong with how he faintly smiled upon seeing her.

"Greetings, Sajyou Ayaka. I am Kotomine Kirei, the Supervisor of the Holy Grail War after the passing of my father, Kotomine Risei, and the legal guardian of the Second Owner of Fuyuki following the death of her own father in the War. It is unfortunate that we must meet in this way."

Kotomine didn't look sorry for her at all.

Still, it wouldn't do for her to offend such an influential man in Fuyuki, so Ayaka replied, "Then you've come on her behalf?"

"In part," the priest affirmed. "Rest assured, the Tohsaka will continue to permit the settlement of the Sajyou upon their lands in Fuyuki. But we have other matters to discuss. You will be pleased to know that your father's remains have been identified, and that the Sajyou Magic Crest should be salvageable from it."

No, that was no comfort at all. Ayaka had never wanted the life of a Magus for herself, and as the firstborn and with her natural talent it was only natural that Manaka would be the family heiress. Ayaka of course learned some basic Magecraft out of duty to her family but she had no expectation of inheriting all of its secrets. Most likely, she would have been married off to another family after Manaka had made a name for the Sajyou far outside of the backwater that the Mage's Association considered Japan to be, strengthening the Sajyou in a way that she could not otherwise, and giving her a better chance of bearing magically-potent offspring. Of course, it wouldn't be true to say that Ayaka was magically deficient, but she only had about twenty Magic Circuits of decent quality, marking her as a strictly average Magus whose potential would pale against mages from families with long lineages, and was unquestionably eclipsed by Manaka. For while Manaka had actually possessed very few Magic Circuits, far fewer than even Ayaka, hers had been of an exceptional quality that made channeling prana through them almost effortless for her. If anything, other Magus families might hope that perhaps this trait was recessive in the Sajyou bloodline, and that Ayaka's offspring might be similarly gifted to their aunt. But now that both her father and sister were dead, it was her duty to continue their work as mages as the head of the Sajyou. Yet she also told herself that she would never again let herself become involved in another Holy Grail War.

At last, she asked "And my sister?"

"Sajyou Manaka's remains could not be identified among the ruins of the civic center," Kotomine crisply replied. "It seems likely that they were burned beyond recognition during the fire or scattered into ash."

That was another grisly image she didn't need in her head. Even if Manaka was already dead Ayaka couldn't bear thinking of her like that. Her death had been horrific enough as it was.

"So what happens to me now?"

"You will of course receive your father's Magic Crest, and as one practiced in spiritual surgery I shall conduct the transplant for you. Young Tohsaka Rin has already undergone the first half of the procedure and inherited part of the Tohsaka family crest, to receive the rest in a few months' time when she has had sufficient time to recuperate from the transplant. And as I said before, you will be allowed to continue living in Fuyuki. However, it is highly imprudent for a Magus as young as you to be living unsupervised. Therefore, I shall assume guardianship over you as well and see to it that you are also diligent in your duties. It is the least I can do for my late teacher, Tohsaka Tokiomi, beyond taking care of his daughter, as he was also the one who welcomed the Sajyou to Fuyuki several years ago when they expressed an interest in joining the ritual, for he saw that your father's desire to reach the Root was pure, as his own was."

And so it was that Kotomine had become her guardian, she obtained the Sajyou Crest, and that she became more closely acquainted with Tohsaka Rin than she otherwise would have been. That was not to say that they were particularly close. At first Rin considered Ayaka a potential enemy for the next Holy Grail War, and she didn't want to get to know well anyone she might have to kill, but she relented after seeing just how panicked Ayaka got at the thought of participating in the 5th War and how the other girl repeatedly renounced any desire for the Grail. For a moment, Ayaka had thought that the Second Owner would evict her from Fuyuki now that the Sajyou had abandoned the Grail and were of no further use to her family's ambitions. To this, Rin had just gotten irritable and said that while she was disappointed in Ayaka, she wasn't so heartless to kick her out when she had nowhere else to go, provided that she didn't cause the Tohsaka any trouble. Besides, would Kotomine really let her leave like that? Overjoyed, Ayaka had thanked Rin profusely, but that had only caused Rin to get really grouchy and demand that she stop making a fool of herself before the Second Owner changed her mind.

But even if they were no longer enemies, they were still mages, and as a matter of course they weren't too open with each other, particularly regarding the details of their families' Magecraft. Still, Ayaka could tell that Rin was easily superior to her in talent; even if the gap between their abilities wasn't quite as large as it had been between her and Manaka, Rin still had twice as many inborn Magic Circuits as her, and they were of a higher quality too. The Tohsaka Crest also contained extensive knowledge of Jewel Magecraft, among many other useful spells, and while the Sajyou Crest had a good selection of Black Magic, Ayaka didn't feel like she had taken to it as well as Rin had assimilated her family's magic.

They knew enough about each other's styles to notice that they both had similar projectile-based spells. But while Rin's Gandr shot appeared as black and red bolts of prana that would weaken the target (or blow a hole in it if concentrated enough) fired from the finger in rapid succession, Ayaka's would momentarily Project a swarm of small and sharp black feathers that carried a similar curse. The weaknesses of Ayaka's version were that it took her a moment longer to cast the spell and that its prana requirements drained her faster than Gandr taxed Rin (though this was also in part due to Ayaka's lower prana capacity). The Second Owner scoffed at how inefficient it was – why would Ayaka's ancestors go to all of the trouble of Projecting feathers? But it was a spell that Ayaka felt a real affinity for, and one of the Sajyou's Mystic Codes, a ring left behind by her mother, further simplified the casting for her.

The two young mages bonded over their dislike of Kotomine Kirei, who had run the Tohsaka family's properties into the ground through his inept management (and would have surely done the same to the Sajyou if they were wealthier), and was mostly a distant guardian, but never missed an opportunity to get under their skins when he checked on them. And as Ayaka already knew she was a Magus, she was one of the few people whom Rin would allow to see beneath her perfect Honors-student façade, but never at school.

Indeed, they rarely spoke at school beyond a meaningless exchange of pleasantries or polite idle conversation. In the meantime, Rin got all of the attention as the school idol, and Ayaka could easily why: Rin was prettier, stronger, and smarter than her. But she didn't mind. She was used to there always being someone better than her, and if Rin used popularity to mask the truth that she was a Magus, Ayaka was simply content to blend into the crowd to achieve the same purpose. Besides, it wouldn't do for her to get to close to others lest she bring them down with her.

Since the end of the 4th Holy Grail War, Sajyou Ayaka had suffered from a degree of fatalism. She feared that even if she didn't seek the Grail she would either somehow end up getting drawn into the War anyway (for as Kotomine regularly told her, it was the Grail who chose the Masters) or a Servant would come to kill her on the chance that she might pose the same sort of threat that her sister had before she ever could become a Master. And with all indications being that the 5th War would be starting any day now, her days were very likely numbered. She was living under a death sentence, yet she desperately tried to close her eyes to this truth and continue her daily routines as if nothing was wrong.

And so she forced herself to get out of bed, donning the standard Homurahara Academy female uniform, and headed downstairs. The house was on the larger side, and had once accommodated the Sajyou's family of four quite comfortably while having plenty of room to spare for her fathers' workshop, where he had conducted his own research and trained Manaka, and a greenhouse where her mother had once tended rare plants, and was in a similar style to the nearby Tohsaka and Matou Manors, reflecting the Sajyou's former ambitions, but it was nonetheless smaller than either in a mark of deference to the Second Owner and the Founding Families of the Holy Grail War. But it was so quiet these days, now that it was just her and…pigeons.

That was another item she could add to her list of failures as a Magus. One of the instructions she had received from her father during her own training before he died was to regularly sacrifice a pigeon or similar small animal so that she could use its blood for their magic by chopping off its head. She tried to dutifully follow his instruction, but ever since that night ten years ago she hadn't had the stomach for it, and would invariably end up cutting her own fingers so that she could use her own blood instead and bandaging them before school. And thus the Sajyou garden became a sanctuary for pigeons and other birds.

She made a simple breakfast for herself, frying an egg, preparing a small salad with cucumbers and tomatoes, and pouring some water for herself, and then ate her meal in silence. Glancing up at the clock on the wall, she saw that she had let her mind wander during breakfast, and she was now running behind schedule for school, so she quickly packed up her things and started into a brisk jog, hurrying through the crossroads and to the school gate.

She was almost there when she noticed that someone was waiting by the gate. Slowing her pace, she noticed that it was the red-haired transfer student, Isemi. He had arrived at the school a few weeks ago and won the admiration of much of Homurahara Academy's female population, to the great ire of Matou Shinji. In spite of his name, Isemi's handsome features suggested that he had European ancestry, and his friendly manner generally made people relax around him. Ayaka wasn't really sure what she thought of him; it almost seemed as there was more to him than met the eye.

"Good morning, Sajyou!" he called out. "You're certainly in a hurry today."

" I don't have time to talk. Sorry."

"That's too bad. Well, I'm sure that they'll tell you in class, but it's dangerous to be alone these days. That serial killer struck again last night; it was on the news this morning. It was some really grisly stuff. So my point is, if you want anyone to walk home with you, just give me a call. After all, you're my friend, Sajyou Ayaka."

She felt her cheeks burns red. "I- I really have – to go" she stammered, and ran past him without looking back.

But no sooner did she enter the building did she almost run into another student.

Emiya Shirou.

"Hi, Sajyou! I didn't see you there," he said, adjusting his grip on the box of tools that he was carrying, undoubtedly on his way to fix something on the behalf of the Student Council.

Yet in spite of his friendly demeanor, his mere presence made her tense up. After all, how did she know that the "Fake Janitor" persona he showed around school wasn't just a front, like Rin's "School Idol" persona? In her mind Emiya Shirou was almost certainly another Magus, personally trained by Emiya Kiritsugu, the Magus Killer, her sister's murderer. And that made Emiya Shirou her enemy. Of course, she could have reported him to Rin at any time, but while Kiritsugu lived since was unwilling to act out of fear of retribution, and now… well, she just didn't want to broach the subject, and she didn't have proof that Shirou was a Magus anyway. Besides, he didn't seem to be hurting anyone… yet.

"Excuse me. I have to go," she replied tersely, averting her gaze from him. Even if by chance Shirou was completely innocent, he was still a living reminder of Emiya Kiritsugu and what she had lost ten years ago.

 **xXx**

Shirou sighed. For as long as he could remember, Ayaka hadn't liked him, and he didn't know why. But he could tell just from looking at her that she was unhappy. Ayaka rarely smiled, and increasingly her attention seemed to be elsewhere. Then again, he couldn't really blame for her that; she had lost her family in that fire. Of course, he had lost his birth family too, but the trauma of the blaze had wiped away his old self, so that loss wasn't as stinging to him as-

"PLEASE!"

"HELP US!"

"I'M DYING HERE!"

Shirou went rigid at the memory, and heard a clang as his toolbox fell to the floor. Scarcely aware of his surroundings, he could see the fires again, and he felt his heart pounding.

"Emiya, are you alright?" a voice asked as a firm hand gripped his shoulder, brining him back to reality.

"Oh – thanks, Issei. Yeah. I'll be fine."

"You tried talking to Sajyou again." Ryuudou Issei stated flatly.

"Yeah, I did."

"She's a nice girl. She's humble and a hard-worker. Pretty too, but she isn't a devil like Tohsaka who tries to wrap every guy in school around her thumb. She's on the gloomy side though, and you should know by now that she doesn't like you. You'd have a better chance even with Tohsaka, and for your sake don't try that."

"It's not like that, Issei. I'd just like to see her smile for once."

Sajyou Ayaka. In a way, she was far stronger than him, as her mind hadn't collapsed under the horrors of the fire. He had been able to rebound by dedicating himself to achieving the ideal of being a hero of justice that his father, Kiritsugu, had been unable to reach five years ago. But it seemed to him that instead of moving forward, Ayaka was still lost among the rubble, wherever she had been when Kiritsugu had found her ten years ago, only going through the motions of living. And so he wished to save her. What sort of hero of justice would he be if he couldn't even help someone in as much need as her and would never see her smile? And maybe if he could save her he would truly understand what his father felt when he saved a young boy.

 **xXx**

Above them, Tohsaka Rin had watched as Ayaka ran through the gate. There was no sign of a Servant, nor Command Spells upon her. Good. Her friend showed no signs of going back on her word; it would be most unfortunate if she had to kill Sajyou in the coming War. She knew that Sajyou couldn't be a serious threat next to her, but she nonetheless steeled herself, telling herself that she would strike her down without mercy should it become necessary. Where her father had failed, she would claim the Holy Grail.

Only a few Servants remained to be summoned. According to Kirei, only Caster, Archer, and Saber were left, and the remaining would-be Masters were sure to complete their own summoning rituals in the next few days. Thus, the time was right. Tonight, she would conduct the ritual and summon Saber, the strongest Servant, to her side at precisely 2 a.m., when her powers were at their daily peak. With her skill and the few remaining Servants, she was sure that she would get one she desired.

Rin fought the urge to yawn. She already wasn't a morning person, and her clock had broken earlier that morning, causing her to come to school an hour too early. But she wouldn't let a lack of sleep stop her from summoning Saber. Everything would be perfect!


	3. Taiga Dojo 1: FlightClipped Wings

**Taiga Dojo #1: Flight/Clipped Wings**

The next day, after visiting her family's graves in the rain, Ayaka realized that she could no longer lie to herself. She had to take action now or she would be killed once the Holy Grail War started. She could have sought sanctuary in Kotomine Church, but she didn't relish the thought of being cooped up with her guardian, the fake priest, for the duration of the war. And nor could she ask Rin for shelter; the other Magus was undoubtedly completing her own preparations for the War and would not welcome any interruptions. At best, she'd be told to either take shelter at the Church or leave Fuyuki. And Ayaka knew that all of Fuyuki was to become a battleground, perhaps only in a matter of hours. So she would do what she should have done long ago and flee to safety. Maybe she could lie low in Misaki Town or Mifune City, or even return to the Sajyou's old home outside of Tokyo. All that mattered was that she got away from Fuyuki before the night was over.

And so she hurried home and grabbed a bag, hastily packing it with a few changes of clothes, some food, whatever money she had around the house, and a few valuables that she could exchange for more while she was away. She also grabbed her mother's ring and securely fastened the Mystic Code to her finger; there was a chance that she would have to fight while making her escape and she didn't want to be unprepared.

Satisfied that she had the necessities, she slipped out through the back, leaving the lights on to create the impression that Sajyou Manor was still occupied. With any luck that misdirection and the Bounded Field still around the house would distract her would-be assailants and buy her some time.

The sun had already set as she neared the station, and Ayaka hoped that she wasn't too late. In any case, she was sure that no one had seen her come this way.

"Good evening, Sajyou Ayaka."

Ayaka froze. Someone knew she was here after all! And that someone was most likely a Magus!

From the fog appeared what looked like a young girl with pale skin, silver hair, and red eyes wearing a warm purple coat. But Ayaka knew better. It was an Einzbern homunculus!

There was a humming sound in the air, and a familiar in the form of a glowing bird made of fine wire flew past Ayaka and to the homunculus' side.

"I should introduce myself," the homunculus continued. "I am Illyasviel von Einzbern. But you may call me Illya." Her tone was polite, but it unmistakably carried a threat.

"If it's about the Grail War, I want nothing to do with it!" Ayaka shouted, feeling panic grip her heart. "I'm nowhere near the Magus my sister was! Please! Just let me go!" She was under no illusions that she could defeat one of the Einzbern's creations in a duel of Magecraft.

"You should have left Fuyuki earlier then or sought refuge at the church." Illya replied pitilessly. "I don't have anything against you, Sajyou, but I was told to eliminate you if we crossed paths so that there won't be any surprises from your family this time. It's unfortunate that you haven't summoned a Servant yet, but I suppose this is a good chance for me to warm up before I deal with my brother. If you play along, I won't even set Berserker on you until the end!"

Berserker? Illya was the Master of Berserker?

 _Focus, Ayaka._ What were her options? If she ran, she'd be leaving her back exposed to Illyasviel's familiar…. or the Einzbern would simply have Berserker mow her down. Her only choice was to fight! And with that resolution, she tossed aside her bag and held out the hand with her mother's ring on it, steadying her aim with the other, but she couldn't stop trembling.

"I'm pleased you've chosen to fight, Ayaka. Show me the best you can muster."

Ayaka concentrated, feeling the burn of prana as it rushed through her Magic Circuits, and invoked the spell that had been passed down to her, a plume of black feathers bursting into existence and then flying toward their targets like a storm of tiny blades. She must have gotten lucky, for some of the feathers clipped Illya's familiar, causing it to tumble out of the sky before failing and bursting apart, but Illya herself was protected from harm by a Bounded Field that disintegrated the feathers as they drew near her.

"An unconventional attack," Illya murmured. "But I wonder how well it can deal with moving targets." And pulling two strands of hair from her head, she fashioned another pair of familiars in a matter of moments, each identical to the one Ayaka had dispatched.

And then they attacked, deftly weaving between Ayaka's plumes while returning fire of their own, sending bright blue bolts of energy flying toward Ayaka, erupting against the pavement as they landed all around her. Losing her balance as she tried to put distance between herself and the bird familiars, Ayaka fell, and they wasted no time in pressing their advantage, one shooting her in the leg so she couldn't stand and another punching a hole in the side of her chest. The wound was deep, as if a bullet had struck her, and Ayaka instantly knew that it would prove fatal without healing or prompt medical attention, painfully bleeding her out over the course of a few minutes, if the familiars didn't finish her off first.

But the familiars had stopped, simply hovering in the air above her, and looking up Ayaka saw that Illya was walking toward her.

"That's all, Ayaka?" she said with a pout. "Well, I'll admit that I had hoped you would put up a better fight. But since you played along with me, I'll grant you a quick death, and even show you my Servant. Come, Berserker!"

Ayaka could only gape as a massive, dark… thing… materialized before her, absurdly muscular, large enough to crush her in its fists if it wished, and with the red gleam of madness in an eye.

"Ayaka, this is Hercules, the strongest Greek Hero. Now Berserker, make it quick."

The monster before her raised a massive stone blade... and with a bellow of "_!" swung it down upon her, swiftly cutting her in two, cleaving through her spine and her stomach, leaving Sajyou Ayaka's world filled with red and pain. But already the pain seemed to be fading away as her body shut down, and for a moment she thought she could see her family before her.

 _"I'm sorry Dad, and Mom… And Manaka… I'll…"_

She made a weak attempt to reach out to them, but her hand fell limply in front of her, and then she was gone.

 **DEAD END**

….

….

….

Was that a light? She thought she could almost hear the clatter of shinai against each other. Where was she?

"Rise and shine!" a bubbly voice called out, and Ayaka felt a shinai land on her head, startling her awake.

Adjusting her glasses, she saw… her English teacher? "Fujimura-sensei?"

"It's fine, I'm just Sensei here!", Ms. Fujimura chuckled, waving her hand. Ayaka then noticed that her teacher was dressed in a kendo uniform and holding the shinai that had whacked her.

Then Ms. Fujimura noticed _her_. "My! I never expected to see you here! Usually it's Shirou after he does something stupid, or even more often something not reckless enough." Her eyes went wide. "Does this make you the new heroine? Student! You have to see this!"

"Coming, Sensei!" And bounding in, dressed in gym clothes was… Illya. What was she doing here?

"Student! I think we have a new heroine!"

Illya looked at Ayaka in disbelief before a scandalized expression formed on her face. "What? No fair! She gets a route before I do?!"

WHACK!

"My head!" Illya cried, nursing a comically large bump left by Ms. Fujimura's shinai.

"Well, I guess I should get to explaining this place. Welcome to the Taiga Dojo, the mysterious helpful hint corner that helps you avoid all of the Dead Ends!"

"Dead End…" Ayaka whispered. "Oh…"

"You!" she shouted at Illya. "You killed me!"

"Well Berserker did, and what else was I supposed to do when you were walking around, almost defenseless when you knew the Grail War would be starting up? That's almost a Shirou-level of idiocy!"

Ms. Fujimura nodded, "Student is right! What you did was very foolish, Ayaka. If you're already at home, you're better off staying there. And you may be able to find something there that can help you. Though I can't promise that it would have let you fend off Berserker."

"Berserker's so strong! Nobody can beat him!"

WHACK!

"Except for all of the times he was defeated in the other routes, Student! In fact, Berserker doesn't survive in a single one of them, or had you forgotten?"

"But this is a new route! Berserker might survive this time!"

Ayaka could only look on in complete puzzlement. What were these "routes" that they were talking about?

"Well, that's almost all of the time that we have for today," Ms. Fujimura told her. "Do you now know what you need to do to avoid your Dead End, new heroine?"

"But… I'm dead," Ayaka protested. "Berserker cut me in two. This is some sort of strange afterlife or near-death hallucination… I just wish I could see my family again."

WHACK!

This time it was Ayaka who was reeling from the full force of the shinai.

"What do they teach kids these days?" Ms. Fujimura huffed. "I'll have you know that my Dojo isn't the afterlife, nor a mere hallucination! " Moderating her tone, she continued, "You just have to start again from your last save and choose differently next time."

"Save?" Now she was really confused.

"Look!" Ms. Fujimura said, sweating and waving her hands rapidly. "Don't worry about it! You'll just wake up in the morning and have no memory that this occurred! Just don't forget what we told you!"

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"My, my! We've gone overtime!" Ms. Fujimura exclaimed as she grabbed Ayaka, wheeled her around, and started pushing her toward the door. "But know that we at the Taiga Dojo will always be here for you if you need help avoiding another Dead End!"

"Yeah! You'll be back soon!" cried Illya, her voice growing distant as Ayaka's surroundings grew indistinct. "I won't let you steal-"

WHACK!

And then the mysterious Dojo was no longer behind her, and Sajyou Ayaka drifted to sleep.


	4. Chapter 2: Night of Fate

**Chapter Two: Night of Fate**

Ayaka awoke, her mind restless. She had the impression that she had been having some sort of vivid nightmare followed by a more… bizarre… dream, but the details of each had already slipped out of her grasp, leaving her with only a sense of foreboding.

As the morning progressed, she found that she was barely able to touch her breakfast, and she had a feeling that even if she went to school today she would be unable to focus on any of the lectures. So instead she decided to visit her family's graves and pay her respects. Yet even as she walked alone through the rain, she had a strange sense of déjà vu.

The graveyard was devoid of visitors when she arrived, and the only sound was the steady cadence of the rain landing upon the tombstones and her umbrella. She was glad for that; she didn't want anyone else to see her when she was so miserable.

There was her mother's grave, and next to it her father's. She tried not to think about the mangled state of his body, even though it was probably long since decomposed anyway. And then there was Manaka's grave, though of course it was empty.

Her sister had been about six years her senior, and could have been away studying at the Clock Tower by now had she survived. She had certainly been talented enough for it. And Manaka had been so young when she summoned her Servant, only 14 years old, the youngest Master to ever participate in one of the Holy Grail Wars. It was no wonder then that her abilities had been underestimated. Of course, their father, Sajyou Hiroki, had fought alongside her throughout the war, and from what Ayaka had gathered when she asked Kotomine Kirei, who had himself been a Master in the War before the defeat of his Servant and the death of his father, the former Supervisor, most of the other Masters had believed at first that Hiroki was the true Sajyou Master.

But in spite of his ambitions for elevating his family his fervent desire to reach the Root, her father had not coerced Manaka into becoming a Master. He was foremost a Magus, but he had still tried to look after his daughters' wellbeing, especially after their mother's early death, even as he raised them as mages as well. While he knew that Magecraft may not have been the path that Ayaka would have chosen for herself and would have most likely arranged a marriage for her to another Magus family, he still would have made sure that the match was acceptable to her, instead of just sending her away to join them without her consent, as others mages with more than one child might have. And in his own way he had been a doting father who had never expressed disappointment with her for failing to display the same talent for Magecraft that Manaka had. But then again, Manaka was a true prodigy, and it hadn't been long before she eclipsed Sajyou Hiroki as a Magus, through the gifts of her superior Magic Circuits and the intuitive way in which she was able to grasp complex thaumaturgical principles. Indeed, while he was happy for her, at times he seemed worried about how his eldest daughter seemed to be growing up and embracing the role of a Magus so quickly.

Sajyou Hiroki had also liked telling stories to his daughters, and Manaka had always loved hearing tales of heroes, particularly stories of King Arthur, his knights, and the legendary sword Excalibur. Ayaka remembered that Manaka had cried so much when she learned of the ruin that ultimately befell his kingdom in spite of his best efforts and just reign. And when Manaka heard of the Holy Grail War, the idea that she would be able to meet such heroes in person was like a dream come to true to her. Hiroki had already been hoping to join the 4th Holy Grail War himself, but Manaka begged him to let her participate. In the end, he knew that there would be no dissuading her and that her ability as a potential Master vastly outstripped his own, and so he relented. And accordingly, it was Manaka who received Command Spells from the Grail. Of course, Ayaka had been too young to understand the significance of the project that her father and sister were working on at the time, knowing only that they were doing something very important in his workshop and that she was not to interrupt; it was only as the 4th Holy Grail War dawned that she learned its true nature. Indeed, she'd at first thought that the dark-haired man who had suddenly appeared around the house was simply a foreign Magus visiting her father on some sort of business, not a Heroic Spirit summoned as her sister's Caster-class Servant.

And then somehow Ayaka had gotten caught up in the climax of the 4th Holy Grail War, though to this day she had no memory as to why she was at the Civic Center, amid the carnage there when she was only eight years old, and her father and sister had both been killed.

"I thought that I might find you here," a voice said, startling her. "It is good to see that you are paying your respects, but I cannot approve of your truancy."

It was Kotomine! When had he snuck up on her?

"But since you are already here, I can say that just two Servants now remain to be summoned, and then the 5th Holy Grail War can properly begin. I can only assume that Rin summoned hers last night, but she has not even had the courtesy to inform me as her guardian and the Supervisor."

"Why are you telling me this?" Ayaka asked, an edge entering her voice.

"I merely wish to ensure that you make all necessary preparations. I would be lax in my duties as your guardian if I did not."

"I've told you before, Kirei!" she snapped. "I have no interest in fighting in the Holy Grail War!"

"I'm not so sure of that. Do you not have a wish to see your family again? Do you really want to leave the Grail to those whose wishes may be… twisted, allowing them to unleash another catastrophe upon this city?"

"I- I would love to see them again! But… I'm too afraid to fight! The last War destroyed my family and Manaka was a greater Magus than I could ever hope to be! Even next to Rin, I'm nothing! If I fight, I will die, without making any sort of a difference!"

"Such hysterics reflect poorly on you, Ayaka. In any case, as I have told you before, whether you become a Master or not is not truly your decision to make – the Grail chooses those who have most need for it and yearn for it in their hearts, even if they are not consciously aware of it. Perhaps the Grail has even placed the stigmata of potential Command Spells upon you already. Of course, you are welcome to seek sanctuary at my church at any time, and as the Supervisor I can guarantee your safety there. But do not take long to decide, or someone else may choose for you."

A sudden sense of dread passed through Ayaka. Kotomine's insinuation was that she was a target. The stigmata marking her as a possible Master could appear at any time! And even if they didn't, certain Masters might want to kill her anyway just so that she'd never have the chance to become a Master after seeing how her sister had dominated the last war. The death sentence that she had tried to ignore for so long now was now plain before her! She needed to hide, at least until the seventh Master had summoned their Servant. Only then would she be safe.

And so Sajyou Ayaka turned and ran, fleeing from the graveyard and back to her home without a second thought.

Kotomine grinned.

 **xXx**

When Shirou arrived at Homurahara Academy that morning he felt slightly nauseous upon passing through the gate. But the sensation quickly passed, so he dismissed it. More troubling was the fact that Ayaka was absent. Had her anxiety caused her to fall ill, or worse, decide to skip school? In any case, the result was that the normally diligent Ayaka missed receiving several assignments. And thus Shirou volunteered to bring them over to her. Maybe someone like Tohsaka could have done it, for he understood that she lived nearby Ayaka, but something didn't sit right with him about the situation, and he had to find out what it was for himself.

He got sidetracked helping out a few other people after school, and the sun was starting to set when he finished. But he then managed to leave without further incident, carrying the papers with him as he began walking to Ayaka's house.

 **xXx**

Unbeknownst to Shirou, Tohsaka Rin remained at Homurahara Academy, examining the Bounded Field that someone had erected over the campus – and it was a nasty piece of work. She couldn't allow it to be fully activated, or it would claim the lives of everyone within. Whoever was responsible for this outrage would face her full wrath as the Second Owner and a Master.

Yes, she was officially a Master now, though she had summoned Archer instead of Saber as desired – and conducted the ritual at 1 a.m. instead of 2 a.m. because her house's clocks were still off. And worse, he was insufferable, and she had already wasted a Command Spell to enforce his obedience. Though to be fair, Archer himself had admitted that the order, while normally too vague to have any meaningful effect, would impose stringent penalties on his parameters should he defy her will, a feat that he attributed to her own skill as a Master. So that made her feel a little better, and the two of them were getting along better now too.

"You've noticed the Bounded Field over this school as well," a voice said from behind her.

Rin turned around, while Archer swiftly moved in front of her, prepared to defend her at a moment's notice. And now that she was facing the speaker, she could see that it was a young man, his face concealed by a brownish-gray mask with black markings on the side, and with a dark mantle covering his body. She could see a mess of red hair on his head, but that wasn't important to her at the moment – he had to be either an eccentric Master or a Servant. But the strange thing was that she couldn't be sure which he was just by looking at him.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"Your enemy, at least in the end of this contest called the Holy Grail War, the Master of Lancer. But I have no desire to fight you here. No, what I am interested in is seeing that this Bounded Field is dismantled as soon as possible. It will be much harder to defeat the Servant responsible for establishing it if it is activated. And of course, I trust that you do not wish for your friends to perish, Tohsaka Rin. It would be a most painful death for them."

"And why shouldn't I just have my Servant deal with you right now?"

"There will be time for that later," the mysterious Master replied. "But beyond denying our opponent prana, I have a grudge to settle, and so our interests align… for now."

When Rin did not reply, he continued, "I've had a chance to examine the Field more closely, and it appears that it is maintained by a number of sigils. If you destroy them, you should be able to forestall its activation, but it is strong enough that I believe only defeating the Servant will allow you to shut it down for good."

"You seem to know an awful lot about this Bounded Field. How do I know you aren't the one who set it up?"

"You're to the point. The short answer is that you don't, but I assure you something of this magnitude is far beyond my capabilities as a Magus. And with that I will take my leave from you, Rin."

He leapt over the fence and off the rooftop. With proper Reinforcement to the legs, leaping as high as he had was plausible, but the fact that he landed without ending up as a bloody mess on the pavement suggested either the use of some other Magecraft to slow his fall, a Mystic Code, or the presence of a Servant in spirit form. And after that it wasn't long before he had vanished into the night, heading in the direction of Shinto, the newer, more urbanized eastern half of Fuyuki City across the Mion River.

"Rin, shall I pursue him?"

"He could be leading us into a trap. I certainly don't trust him, Archer. Did you sense a Servant with him?"

"No, he was alone. But – "

"Yes, something's suspicious about him. I should have been able to tell right away if he was a Master or a Servant. I suppose we can force the answer to that question from him later. And he seemed almost familiar with me, but he doesn't match the appearance of any Magus I know at school. But for now I want to keep looking at this Bounded Field and see if there was any truth to those sigils he was talking about."

Yet before she could investigate any further, she saw a bright flash of light in the direction of Fuyuki's western-style houses, where the Magus families of the Tohsaka, Matou, and Sajyou lived.

Could it be? Either Ayaka had just summoned a Servant in spite of all of her claims to renounce the Grail, or there was a battle going on near there!

"Change of plans, Archer! We're investigating the source of that light immediately!"

If Ayaka had lied to her for all these years… she wouldn't forgive her!

 **xXx**

Ayaka had still been in a panic when she got home and hastily locked the door behind her. Pausing just for a moment to catch her breath, she ran to a mirror and began inspecting her body for any stigmata. Usually, Command Spells appeared on a hand, but it wasn't unprecedented that they could appear elsewhere. For example, the Supervisors of the Holy Grail War usually bore excess Command Spells from previous Wars on their arms. She didn't see any upon her in the usual places but…as she pulled off her blouse, there, between her breasts, was a long, thin bruise that hadn't been there before. But of course, it wasn't an ordinary bruise:it was the stigmata from the Grail. Her fears had been realized!

No! She wouldn't fight! Hurriedly putting her blouse back on, she ran back and forth, making sure that the house was secure, checking that the Bounded Field that served as its security system was still operational, and dimming the lights. Almost as an afterthought, she grabbed a small stone rune fragment that her family had collected many years ago, marked with Algiz, the rune representing protection. Though Ayaka didn't specialize in runes herself, she had been taught some of their basic meanings and understood that they constituted an old yet potent system of Magecraft, capable imbuing magical effects into the objects that they marked. And while she didn't know how much power it still held by itself, simply having it on her person made her feel a little safer. And at last she grabbed a blanket and hid herself under it. Now she just had to stay very quiet and still, and pray that she would be left alone tonight.

 **xXx**

"Kill Sajyou Ayaka before she can become a Master. And make it look like an ordinary break-in; that should simplify the subsequent cover-up. With the recent crimes in Fuyuki the authorities won't think twice of it."

Those were Assassin's orders from her Master, an ambitious man backed by the Mage's Association for the Holy Grail War. Assassin rather disliked him; he was arrogant and thought that his wealth could buy his way to victory and thus greater prestige within the Association, financing the construction of a state-of-the-art alchemist's workshop within Fuyuki dedicated to optimizing his family's brand of sacrificial Magecraft, as well as allowing him to indulge in more frivolous pursuits, such as surrounding himself with a harem of beautiful women. At least he would never dare to strike her, for he would die if he so much as touched her bare skin. Such was the power of her Noble Phantasm, Zabaniya – Delusional Poison Body. On the other hand, she couldn't deliberately kill him with it either, for as soon as he had realized the peril he was in he had used up one of his Command Spells, forbidding her from touching him. Still, there were other ways to kill a man or make them abandon caution, throwing themselves to their deaths. But for now she would cooperate with him, at least until she could find a more suitable Master.

Thus Assassin approached Sajyou Manor, easily bypassing its Bounded Field through her Presence Concealment class skill. And had the order to kill Sajyou Ayaka not been enforced with a second Command Spell, she would have just passed through the door in spirit form and quietly snuffed out the girl's life, but no, her Master required her to make a scene. For all of his talk of taking the War seriously unlike a certain Lord El-Melloi, was he stupid, nullifying her best advantage like that? Well, at least if he was this wasteful with Command Spells she would be free to do as she pleased before long.

And so Assassin, under the compulsion of the Command Spell, momentarily abandoned subtlety and kicked down the door.

 **xXx**

Ayaka jumped in fright as she heard her door being knocked in with a bang. They were here to kill her!

"Just pretend that I'm not here… Just pretend that I'm not here." But she could hear her heart pounding in her chest, surely giving her position away, and then there was a strange, sweetly intoxicating aroma drawing closer to her. No, she realized in a moment of clarity, that aroma was poison itself! If she stayed where she was any longer it would start to overwhelm her and then she would be killed!

And thus she leapt from under the blanket with a cry, running prana through her Magic Circuits to drive out the poison, and firing a burst of cursed feathers at her assailant, a lithe woman who looked only a little older than her with short purple hair and dark skin, clad in only slightly darker black fabrics cut to favor mobility and a white skull mask. Yet Ayaka instantly knew that this was no mere woman, but the Servant Assassin.

Assassin nimbly leapt backward, but even she could not fully avoid Ayaka's attack at that range, and several feathers grazed her, causing her to pause for a moment as the weakening effects of the curse set in. Such an attack was hardly enough to slay a Servant, but as Assassin lacked any meaningful Magic Resistance she was still fully susceptible Ayaka's Magecraft. Meanwhile, Ayaka seized the opportunity to flee further into her home. What was it that her father had said? "If all else fails, take shelter in the garden."

 **xXx**

Recovering, Assassin swiftly moved to follow her target, closing the gap between them while Ayaka haphazardly fired more volleys of feathers over her shoulder. But then Assassin heard something from behind her – a witness!

No matter. The rules of the Holy Grail War were clear – the witness had to die. And once they were disposed of she would be able to fulfill the order given to her by the Command Spell all the same.

 **xXx**

When Emiya Shirou arrived at the Sajyou Manor, he was shocked to see that the door had been broken down. That could only mean one thing – Ayaka was in danger. And so he ran in without any thought for his own safety.

Of course, if there was some sort of burglar, or worse, the serial killer who had been stalking Fuyuki in there, he needed a weapon. Seeing an old-fashioned lamp near the entrance, he grabbed it, cleared his mind, and said, "Trace On." Focusing, he quickly analyzed the lamp's structure and poured prana through it, Reinforcing the metal. The Magic Circuit that he had activated burned, but if he could help someone…

And then, the intruder emerged out of the darkness, a pale skull-like visage gleaming in the moonlight, radiating killing intent and filling the air with a strangely sweet smell. As the figure came closer, he saw that she had the body of an alluring woman and appeared to be unarmed, but she was clearly not human.

What was he waiting for? Raising his improvised weapon, he charged forward.

 **xXx**

So the witness was a Magus… and an idiot. Easily sidestepping the blow, Assassin delivered a powerful kick to his chest. It wasn't a fatal blow as his jacket had insulated him from the killing skin of her exposed toes, but it had surely broken a few ribs and sent him flying back into the corridor that Ayaka had retreated through. And she continued to push him back, even as he tried his hardest to defend himself in spite of the poison emanating from her slowly taking its toll. She didn't manage to land a killing blow, though she came tantalizingly close to brushing his hand, but forced him to give ground with every step and eventually shattered the lamp he was wielding, knocking him through the glass behind him into the greenhouse where her target awaited. There, she would eliminate them together, first the girl and then the boy. She thought that she would use her favorite method of killing on him – a kiss on the lips.

 **xXx**

Ayaka had tried blockading herself in the garden, using her Magecraft to cause vines to rapidly grow over the door and imbue them with a curse that she hoped would slow Assassin. But then she heard a commotion back in the corridor. What was going on?

Suddenly, Emiya Shirou came crashing through the glass, holding the remnants of one of her lamps in his hands as if it were a sword, colliding with her and sending them both down to the ground in a heap.

What was he doing here? Was he Assassin's Master? No, that made no sense. Had he been fighting Assassin? Why? But it didn't matter. They were both going to die! If only she could fight back!

 **xXx**

He had lost? And as the woman with the skull mask drew near, Shirou knew that both he and Ayaka were going to die. No! He couldn't die without saving anyone, especially when he could still defend her!

 **xXx**

But what neither of them had noticed was that a magic circle inscribed into the ground behind them had begun to glow. Assassin saw it and lunged forward in a last attempt to fulfill the order she had been given, but was pushed back by a sudden gust of wind from the circle as a pair of figures materialized within it – a blue-haired, red eyed man wielding a heavy wooden staff etched with runes and a beautiful blonde female knight. The Grail had answered Sajyou Ayaka and Emiya Shirou's desperate pleas to survive, and they had just unwittingly become the sixth and seventh Masters in the Holy Grail.

Confronted by two Servants, Caster and Saber from the looks of it, Assassin knew that victory had slipped from her fingers. But now that she had failed and Sajyou Ayaka had summoned a Servant, the conditions of the Command Spell were invalid. And thus Assassin made an immediate retreat, choosing to preserve her own life. There would be other opportunities to kill the new Masters without facing suicidal odds.

 **xXx**

But even with her departure, two hostile Servants remained in the garden.

"Master, get back! The enemy is upon us!" the blonde knight shouted while Shirou looked on, dumbfounded.

"Well, this is unusual," the blue-haired man chuckled, observing the scene before him. "I take it that the young lady is my Master."

Trembling, Ayaka could only nod, but she retained enough sense to scramble to her feet and to her Servant's side before aiming her Mystic Code at Shirou.

"Wait, Ayaka, what's going on?" he asked as he realized that she was preparing to attack him. However, the knight did not waste any time in coming to his defense and swung an invisible sword at Ayaka, only to be intercepted by the man's staff, the runes along its length glowing with prana.

"I was right that you were a Magus, Emiya Shirou!" she shouted. "Just like your father, who killed my sister! So tell me, why are you at my house? Did you come to kill me too, and just ran into Assassin first?"

"My father… killed…" Shirou murmured in horror.

"Are you telling me that you didn't know that Emiya Kiritsugu was the Magus Killer?" she pressed, while her Servant continued straining to push back the knight's invisible sword, not noticing that the knight's eyes had grown wide for a moment at the mention of Kiritsugu's name.

"No… Look, I just came here to help you…" He looked up to the knight. "Please, just stop! I don't want you killing one of my classmates! Can't we just talk this out? I don't know what's going on here!"

The knight froze as a Command Spell flashed red on Shirou's hand before vanishing and involuntarily relaxed her stance, allowing the man to give her a hard shove, pushing her out of striking range of his Master.

"You… really don't know anything?" Ayaka murmured as she saw Shirou waste a Command Spell on her behalf. Her mental image of him as the devious heir to the Magus Killer, hiding behind a helpful façade was thrown into doubt. She couldn't bring herself to fully trust him yet, but perhaps she could listen to what he had to say.

Turning to her Servant, she sighed and said hesitantly, "Caster? Please stand down as well."

"Heh. Fine. I'm interested to know what led to such an unusual summoning too. Just don't think to interrupt me once I'm enjoying a really good fight."

Looking down to Shirou, she continued gloomily, "We've both just been caught up in the 5th Holy Grail War, a battle to the death between seven mages and their Servants, Heroic Spirits summoned to the modern world." And now hatred entered her voice once more. "Your father fought in the last War and at its end he shot my sister before my eyes! And then…" She paused, struggling to regain her composure. "I don't exactly know what happened next, but someone had made an evil wish on the Holy Grail… and it… caused the Great Fuyuki Fire."


	5. Taiga Dojo 2: ForfeitApocalypse

**Taiga Dojo #2: Forfeit/Apocalypse**

"I renounce my rights as a Master in the 5th Holy Grail War. I never wanted this," Ayaka declared firmly.

"That is disappointing," Kotomine replied, "but it is your decision to make, and the Church's offer of sanctuary still stands. If you are sure about this, I can perform the spiritual surgery necessary to remove your Command Spells now."

"Yes, I am sure."

"Very well." He paused. "It seems that your Command Spells are not in the usual place."

Ayaka could only blush with embarrassment.

"I understand," Kotomine said knowingly. "We shall perform the operation in private then." Turning to the other Master in the Church, he said, "You may go now, Emiya Shirou. Rejoice, my son! You have a chance to make your dreams come true."

That was the last time Sajyou Ayaka ever saw Emiya Shirou, as he walked out of the Church to rejoin Saber, firmly committed to stopping the Grail Wars. If only she had his strength.

Afterwards, she joined Kotomine in a back room of the Church. She removed her blouse again so that the priest could access her Command Spells – direct contact was necessary for this sort of spiritual surgery. It was embarrassing, but at least Kotomine was nothing if not professional in his conduct during the procedure.

But the procedure itself – it hurt far more than she had imagined it would. As he plunged his fingers into her chest, it felt like he was ripping out her nerves, her Magic Circuits, causing pain to flare throughout her body. It only took a moment, and no real harm was done, but the pain didn't fade as quickly.

"The operation was successful," Kotomine announced. "I have removed two of your three Command Spells. Now simply use the last one to abolish your contract with Caster."

She nodded, and then pronounced very clearly, "I, Sajyou Ayaka, order you Caster to sever your contract with me and seek a new Master."

The last stroke of her Command Spells faded, and the faint connection she felt to Caster vanished from her mind."

"It is done," Kotomine nodded solemnly. "Will you now seek sanctuary in the Church, former Master?"

"I will. I had enough of a scare tonight. And I have the feeling that Caster would kill me if I dared show my face out there."

"As many Servants would if you trampled their pride."

For a moment, Ayaka was gripped with uncertainty in her decision. But it was too late now.

And thus Ayaka began her asylum within Kotomine Church, confined in it for the duration of the war with one of her least favorite people, but at least she was safe.

Kotomine gave her little news on the events of the War, as she was no longer a Master, but he seemed to enjoy telling her the most morbid bits of it, such as when Shirou was killed a few days into the War. Rin still seemed to be alive though. But she soon noticed that Kotomine's demeanor seemed to be changing to one of concern, and then even… excitement?

Eventually, Kotomine informed her that he would be leaving the Church to investigate an anomaly that had arisen in the War, and gave her strict instructions to remain in her quarters.

Kotomine never returned.

And then it happened.

The ground itself seemed to shake, and looking out of her small window Ayaka saw… a great void in the sky above Mount Enzou, and a torrent of the black mud she had seen ten years ago pouring ceaselessly out of it. And then…. something was rising up, a vast Beast growing, incarnating, being born into the world, surely heralding the end itself.

She was terrified, but there was nowhere to run now as swarms of what seemed to be living yet mindless Shadows came forth as its emissaries, driven by pure malice. From the church on the hill, she saw them devour Fuyuki, and then they came for her.

 _DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE._

As they enveloped her, taking her into their dark embrace, she was made to bear witness to All the World's Evil.

 _War. Murder. Theft. Hate. Gluttony. Deceit. Greed. Bigotry. Terrorism. Spite. Lust. Rape. Torture. Wrath. Envy. Narcissism. Sloth. Pride. Suicide. Insanity. Cruelty. Indifference. Despair._

It was a virulent curse, specialized for exterminating humanity with its own worst impulses.

 ** _DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!_**

 ** _DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!_**

 ** _DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!_**

 ** _DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!_**

 ** _DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!_**

 ** _DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!_**

Her consciousness was fading rapidly now; she could barely withstand any more of it, and she knew only pain and misery as her body melted agonizingly away.

This was the result of an evil wish upon the Grail, an Apocalypse. If she had chosen to fight, might she have helped prevent this ending?

 **DEAD END**

…

…

…

Ayaka blinked, opening her eyes to the mysterious Dojo once more.

"Look who's back!" Ms. Fujimura yelled. "Our new heroine!"

"I told you she would be," Illya replied smugly. "Did I do her in again?"

WHACK!

"What a cruel thing to say, Student! In any case, Ayaka is here because she tried to run away from her fate again!"

"So… there's no way for me to avoid fighting?"

"Nope, not if you want a happy ending, that is!"

"Wait… you knew the last time that if I stayed home that I would pick up that rune fragment… and that it would be a summoning catalyst…. You tricked me!"

"I prefer to call that just one way of giving out helpful hints so that you can avoid your Dead Ends!" Taiga grinned. "Come, on, don't look so glum! We've even invited a special guest for you!"

"A special guest?"

"Yes, you'll love him! Meet Proto-Saber!"

A handsome blonde man with a vague resemblance to Emiya Shirou's Servant walked into the Dojo and waved.

"In another world, this guy would have been your Servant! He's got a much more lighthearted personality than the Saber you know, but his own dark secrets!"

"It's good to see you, Master," he said before reaching out and removing Ayaka's glasses.

"Hey! Give those back!"

"But you're so cute when you're flustered like that."

Ayaka felt her cheeks burn, but he relented and returned them to her.

"Now some of you may be wondering why both Sabers didn't appear earlier," Ms. Fujimura continued, entering her "lecturing mode", pulling up a chalkboard and drawing a variety of figures detailing character relationships, timelines, and who knew what as she addressed… no one in particular. "But as you can clearly see here, having both Saber and Proto-Saber in the same Grail War is a fundamental violation of the rules! And this route is quite unworkable unless Shirou has Avalon, allowing him to survive the fire, summon Saber, and acquire all of his usual skills!"

"What was that?" Ayaka asked.

"Nothing! Nothing! You didn't hear that!"

"SABER!" a voice called from nowhere, interrupting Ms. Fujimura. Ayaka's eyes widened. She knew that voice!

"Hey! Watch we're you're…" Illya screamed as she was bowled over by none other than Sajyou Manaka, also dressed in gym attire.

"Sister! And before Manaka could realize what was happening, Ayaka had wrapped her in a big hug.

"Oh. I didn't see you there, Ayaka. I just heard that my perfect knight was here, just as described in the stories, instead of turning out to be a girl! But I love Arturia too. And you too, sister," she added, almost as an afterthought. Ayaka frowned. It was her first time seeing her older sister in years, and she was greeted like that?

"Well, it looks like that's all the time Mr. Pendragon has for today!" Ms. Fujimura announced, and as the sisters looked up they saw that he was gone.

"Oh well," Manaka said dreamily. "There's always next time." Her eyes brightened. "And to make sure I don't miss it, I'm going to be your new Student, Ms. Fujimura!"

"Hey! What about me?" Illya cried.

ZAP!

Illya collapsed as she was struck with a beam of raw energy from Manaka.

"Oh my!" exclaimed Ms. Fujimura. So that's the fearsome power that slew a Servant in the last Grail War."

"Don't worry," Manaka said with an innocent smile. "She'll get better. Besides, this Dojo isn't big enough for two girls like us."

"I'm 18," Illya groaned.

ZAP!

"You don't look it," Manaka cheerfully replied.

"You're 24!" Illya snapped back.

"Biologically, I'm still 14. I stopped aging at the end of the last Grail War."

Stepping between them, Ms. Fujimura said, "Well, we're getting off track here. And yes, Manaka, we'd be glad to have you as our Student while Illya recovers."

"How come she gets away with it?!"

WHACK!

"So where were we?" Ms. Fujimura wondered, trying to recollect her thoughts after all of the excitement. "Ah, yes!" She turned back to Ayaka. "So what you need to do this time is simple – just go back and choose to fight this time! And don't worry – you have plenty to fight for, so believe in yourself!"

"Hey, Sensei," Manaka interrupted. "Isn't it supposed to be called the 'Tiger Dojo', not the 'Taiga Dojo'?"

"DON'T CALL ME TIGER!" Ms. Fujimura erupted as the image of a ferocious tiger appeared behind her.

"Well, I suppose it will be fixed for next time," Manaka shrugged. "See you later, sister," she said with a wave.

And once again everything started growing indistinct, and the mysterious Dojo faded from view.


	6. Chapter 3: The First Night

**Chapter Three: The First Night**

Everything still seemed surreal to Emiya Shirou, from the revelation that Sajyou Ayaka was a Magus, to that of the Holy Grail Wars and the summoning of Servants, to the grim role that his father had allegedly played in the last War. A part of him wanted to deny her words, but her grief and hatred seemed all too real.

"It's unfortunate, but being a hero is a limited-time thing. When you grow up, it becomes hard to call yourself one. I should have realized that earlier."

Kiritsugu's words on that fateful night, under the silver moon, echoed in his mind. Was that what he had meant? A hero of justice was supposed to save everyone, but… Kiritsugu had been forced to kill Ayaka's sister? Why? But it wasn't just that… Ayaka had called his father 'The Magus Killer', practically spitting the epithet at him. How many had his father killed? He knew so little about Kiritsugu's past, but he had never imagined it was something like this. Had Kiritsugu saved Ayaka out of guilt then? After all, it had only been after he found the boy who would become Emiya Shirou that life and joy had returned to Kiritsugu's eyes.

But no matter what his father had done, that didn't change Shirou's promise to him. He would live up to the ideal his father had given him and save everyone, so that no innocent victims would be left behind to grieve for their loved ones as Ayaka had been.

At least it no longer seemed like she was ready to kill him. After he had unwittingly used what she called a 'Command Spell' to compel his Servant, who had since introduced herself as Saber, to not harm Ayaka, she had asked that her Servant, Caster, similarly refrain from violence against him for the time being. But even if they had worked out a truce, Ayaka still seemed wary of him, and she was obviously terrified by everything that had occurred, a fact that only became more obvious as her rage faded away. She had managed to say that they should head to Kotomine Church but she had pretty much clammed up after that.

In spite of how badly Assassin had beaten him up he felt well enough to walk – his injuries must not have been as severe as he first thought, so he saw no reason to refuse Ayaka's suggestion if Kotomine could explain the rest of this War he'd gotten himself into. Ayaka was also the proper Magus of the two of them, so he deferred to her judgment. She inadvertently made the difference in their abilities clear when he saw her cut a finger on one of the shards of glass his unexpected entrance into the greenhouse had created, and then used the magical energy contained within her blood to repair the hole in less than a minute while Caster was busy examining the Bounded Field that protected her home.

"That's amazing!"

She gave him a funny look, as if she thought he was making fun of her, and after a long moment she spoke. "No it's not. Rin would have managed it in a few seconds."

It took Shirou a moment to understand the significance of what she had just said. "Wait! You're telling me that Tohsaka is a Magus as well?"

"Her family's one of the three that founded the Holy Grail Wars," Ayaka replied wearily. "And she's the Second Owner who presides over Fuyuki. Of course she's a Magus! Anyways, we should get going. Have Saber assume spirit form."

"Unfortunately, I cannot do so," said Saber.

And thus they had to waste a minute grabbing one of Ayaka's extra coats and draping it over Saber, so that passerby would not see her armor underneath.

They hadn't gotten far away from her house when they encountered a familiar and very cross-looking face: Tohsaka Rin. But there was also tall, tanned man with silvery hair a red coat by her side, another Servant, and Shirou could not help but feel that the man was someone he would never be able to get along with. At the same time, Caster materialized at Ayaka's side, which only caused Rin's ire to grow.

"Do you care to explain this to me, Sajyou?" Rin snapped. "For years I hear that you want nothing to do with the Holy Grail War, and now you've gone ahead and summoned a Servant? And why is Emiya here, with his own Servant from the looks of it? Don't tell me that you teamed up with him!"

"I didn't mean… it was an accident… Assassin…" Ayaka stammered while Caster looked on disapprovingly.

"Both of us got caught up in this," Shirou cut in. "I had come over to drop off the papers she missed earlier today and check on how she was doing. When I arrived, the door was broken down and I ran into a Servant who was trying to kill her. We both got thrown into a magic circle and we ended up summoning Servants. Beyond that, I don't know what's going on, so we were heading to the Church to see the Supervisor."

"Hmph. Sajyou, is what Emiya says true?"

"Yes."

"And he managed to summon Saber?" Rin asked incredulously. "Did you know he was a Magus?"

"No. I suspected that he might be due to who his father was, but I had no proof and I was too scared, so I said nothing. I'm sorry, Rin."

"I'm not even really a proper Magus," Shirou continued. "My father just taught me the basics, like how to use my Magic Circuits and Reinforcement, and the only spell I'm really good at is Structural Analysis."

A vein was practically throbbing in Rin's forehead now. "Have you no common sense?! Why would you tell me what Magecraft you're capable of? We're enemies!"

Saber shifted in her stance, prepared to act in an instant, and for a moment both Shirou and Ayaka were convinced that they were going to have to fight Rin and her Servant.

But Rin just crossed her arms and huffed, "Fine! Go see Kotomine! I can't just attack an amateur who doesn't know what he's gotten himself into. And you, Sajyou, I'll let you off this time for the sake of our friendship, but if you're still a Master by tomorrow know that we will no longer be friends! Besides, though I'm sure Archer would prove quite capable, I'm not so reckless to order him to fight two Servants at once, especially when one of them is Saber. Do you understand?"

Ayaka nodded nervously.

"Good! Archer, we're leaving."

"As you wish, Rin."

And then they departed.

"What did she mean by `if you're still a Master by tomorrow'?" Shirou asked.

Ayaka said nothing.

 **xXx**

"Sajyou…" Archer, also known as the Counter Guardian EMIYA, wondered. She was a friend of Rin's, apparently attended Homurahara Academy, and had just been involved in an accidental summoning with his younger self, or at least an alternate version thereof. Yet her name was unfamiliar to him, and while his memories were imperfect, he thought that he could say with confidence that he had never met one with that name before.

Of course, that wasn't the only change. There had been that strange masked man at the school, who was also unknown to him, and he was sure that it had been Lancer whom Emiya Shirou had a run-in with, not Assassin… to say nothing of the fact that the one he remembered as `Lancer' was now Caster.

Well, at least his summoning by Rin was a constant, and she was every bit the prideful yet teasing and easily flustered Magus that he remembered. And of course, there was still Emiya Shirou, no doubt still clinging to that fantasy of becoming a hero. Archer held few illusions that killing Shirou would do anything to erase his own accursed existence as a Counter Guardian, for such a hope seemed only slightly less than futile under the best of circumstances. But at the very least Archer looked forward to venting his frustration on Shirou if the fool remained committed to the ideal that would damn him, given the proper opportunity.

And so he would wait for that opportunity.

 **xXx**

After Rin's departure, Shirou, Saber, Ayaka, and Caster in spirit form at her side began the long walk through Fuyuki's less-developed Miyama Town to the urbanized Shinto across the Mion River, which Kotomine Church laid on the far side of. Ayaka had once again become very quiet and rebuffed further attempts at conversation or otherwise kept her responses brief, and soon Shirou could not help but feel awkward himself.

After about an hour they arrived at Kotomine Church without incident. It wasn't a particularly large building, as Fuyuki only had a small Christian population, but it still had a certain grandeur to it and loomed over its surroundings. Ayaka recalled that before the 4th Holy Grail War it had seemed to be a welcoming structure, back when the pious Kotomine Risei ran it, and she had come there regularly with her family. Indeed, it was where she had first met Tohsaka Rin, who was also attending services there with her family, but they hadn't come to know each other beyond being acquaintances until after the War. Now that it was under Kotomine Kirei's jurisdiction it was a place she preferred to avoid when possible, lest she be forced to spend more time than necessary with him. In contrast, Shirou had never set foot inside of a church, at least not within the ten years that he could remember, and, given that she had said nothing about Kirei's character to him, he was left with his own naïve first impressions.

At last she spoke again, trying to sound authoritative but with a trembling in her voice betraying her true feelings. "This is Kotomine Church. The Supervisor will be waiting inside."

"If you are heading inside Shirou, I shall wait out here," Saber spoke up.

He seemed hesitant for a moment, but nodded. "Okay. Just try not to get into a fight with Caster until I know just what's going on here."

"I shall respect your wishes," she replied. "It would be dishonorable for me to break the truce that you have established. Of course, should Caster do so first I will fight back, and I encourage you to remain on your guard."

"Heh. Don't worry about me," Caster said as he materialized across from Saber. "Though I expect a good fight in the end, I'd be foolish to just rush in against Saber and her Magic Resistance. Plus, it's not wise to anger a lady," he continued, glancing at Ayaka.

"Thank you," she replied. She then took a deep breath, opened the church's doors, and led Shirou inside.

 **xXx**

Meanwhile, in the penthouse that he had bought near the core of Shinto, Atram Galiast was furious.

In spite of using one of his three Command Spells to ensure that she'd get the job done, Assassin had still failed to kill Sajyou Ayaka before she could summon a Servant. What kind of Assassin couldn't kill a young Magus living on her own before a witness arrived? And she even had the gall to report back in a form that she knew would infuriate him further!

For Assassin now looked quite unlike how she appeared at Ayaka's home, no longer wearing black and a skull mask but a short white dress, and while her skin could once blend into the night it was now fair. Indeed, she had affected the appearance of an innocent yet beguiling maiden with bright eyes that matched her hair, though the latter was still cut in a similar style to that of her "Assassin" form. Such was the power of her Shapeshifting skill, to hide her true nature while putting forth a serene façade, and that was why she was known as `Hassan of Serenity'. And one who enjoyed the close company of beautiful women, Atram had to exert all of his discipline as a Magus to keep himself from approaching her, lest he inhale that sweet poison that surrounded her too deeply or touch her and meet instant death. After all, the power of his first Command Spell only prohibited her from deliberately touching him. And now it took his every instinct of self-preservation to keep himself from slapping her in anger, which would also spell his death.

"We could not have foreseen the boy's interference," Assassin soothingly lied, "nor that he was a Magus and a potential Master." Of course the scene she had been ordered to make would draw unwanted attention; only the nature of witness had truly been a surprise to her. "Do not be so hard on yourself, Master."

"According to the survivors of the last War, Sajyou Manaka was a true prodigy of Magecraft! If such gifts manifested in her, who knows what talents might lie dormant in her sister?" Atram snapped. "And even Sajyou Ayaka truly is just an average Magus, she's long been expected to be chosen as a Master. If you had eliminated her, then the Grail would have been forced to choose another, less qualified Master. But it's too late for that now." He paused, gathering his composure and once again reining in the urge to strike her. "You said her Servant was Caster?"

"Yes. And the boy seems to have summoned Saber."

"That's very interesting, Assassin. At least your mission wasn't a total waste. What did he look like?"

"Auburn hair, golden-brown eyes, reasonably well built. He seemed impulsive and used Reinforcement Magecraft to improvise a weapon."

Atram raised an eyebrow at this. "That hardly seems like the behavior of proper Magus. In any case, I do not know of any mages who match that description. But as an unknown and the Master of Saber he merits further investigation. Find out who he is, what his weaknesses are, report your findings to me, and then kill him when an opportunity presents itself. Do not risk a direct confrontation with Saber, and do not fail me again." Confidence reentered his voice. "In the meantime I will be making preparations in my workshop for the day that I challenge the Tohsaka Master or whichever Magus the Einzbern have sent this time. If I can defeat them and claim the Grail my family's prestige will increase immensely in the Association, and with the capital I have put in place here I should be able to secure a decisive advantage."

Assassin allowed herself a smile that looked simply dazzling on her false face. At last, her foolish Master was giving her reasonable orders!

"As you wish, Master."

 **xXx**

"I thought I might be seeing you tonight, Sajyou Ayaka," Kotomine Kirei said as they entered the church, already standing by the altar. "But who is that with you?"

"I'm Emiya Shirou."

The priest's eyes lit up, and his smile grew wider for a moment. "Emiya…" he repeated. "Do you mean to tell me that you are Emiya Kiritsugu's son?"

"I am."

"You wanted each Master to report to you after summoning their Servant, and he didn't know what was going on," Ayaka blurted out. "And he…" Her cheeks flushed and she found it impossible to continue. It was true that Emiya Shirou had probably saved her life by distracting Assassin for a few seconds, but she couldn't quite bring herself to openly admit it, especially in front of Kotomine. Yet she disliked the idea of being indebted to an Emiya, so she had rationalized that establishing a temporary truce with him and guiding him here would help her clear that debt. And if she was honest with herself, she would have come to the Church anyway; unlike Rin she didn't have the courage to simply flout Kirei's directives.

Kirei nodded understandingly, but that only sent a chill down her spine. "I have clearly taught you well, Ayaka. You are to be commended for putting aside your grudge against Emiya Kiritsugu to bring his son here, and you responded to my summons when my other student, Rin, did not. Has she indeed become a Master as well?"

"Yes. She summoned Archer. We crossed paths with her on the way here."

"Thank you."

Then Kotomine's tone turned more severe. "That being said, Ayaka, I am disappointed that you made no mention of Emiya here before now; surely he goes to your school and you suspected that he might be a Magus like his father. If so, you should have promptly informed the Second Owner or myself of this fact."

"I understand," she replied sullenly.

He shook his head. "You curse your fate, Ayaka, but you should rejoice that the Grail has chosen you; with it you can make your dearest wishes come true. And as I told you this morning, you have much to fight for."

He paused. "But I suppose I should instruct the son of the Magus Killer in what his father apparently did not see fit to mention about the Holy Grail Wars first."

Both Ayaka and Shirou stiffened at the sound of the epithet, one in distress as it conjured terrible memories in her mind, and the other as his vision of Emiya Kiritsugu was challenged once again.

Besides just telling Shirou the rules of the War in detail, Kotomine was relentless in impressing upon him the lengths that mages would go to win, lengths that Emiya Kiritsugu had gone to.

"Emiya Kiritsugu committed all of these atrocities for the sake of what he foolishly believed to be a better world," Kirei concluded. "And to that end anything could be sacrificed, be it the lives of countless civilians caught in the crossfire, or those of the Masters who stood in his way, including the young Sajyou Manaka. Yet imagine, Emiya Shirou, what would happen if the Grail were to fall into the hands of a man with even fewer scruples than your father, those motivated purely by their own base interests?"

Shirou's fists were clenched. "I won't allow that to happen. I'll fight, but I won't let anyone die because of this stupid War! And even if my father lost his way like you say, he saved me and what he believed in was right!"

"So what the Sajyou believed in was wrong?" Kotomine asked. "By all accounts, Sajyou Hiroki, Ayaka's father, was a good man as mages go, and from the Grail he sought a path to the Root so that he could gain knowledge and an understanding of the world, a desire he surely shared with his eldest daughter. Of course, such an achievement would have also vastly increased the prestige of the Sajyou within the Mage's Association."

"No, it wasn't," Shirou replied after a moment. "And if someone I can trust ends up winning the Grail I'll be happy for them. There's nothing that the Grail can give me that's worth killing for!"

"Then tell me, Emiya: do you think you can reason with those Masters who are willing to kill all those in their way and sacrifice civilians to achieve their goals? Can you persuade them to surrender or do you have the skill to apprehend them? And what of their Servants? You surely cannot defeat them yourself, and even with Saber they remain formidable foes."

"Are you telling me to kill the other Masters?!"

"That is merely the simplest solution."

"Then I'll find a better one!"

For a long moment, Kotomine's gaze bored into Shirou, and for a moment the young man feared that the priest had seen through his bravado, for in truth he didn't know how he would stop such enemies. Was that why his father had become the Magus Killer and failed to become a hero, because killing was expedient?

But Kotomine did not press the point further. Instead, he simply smiled and said, "In any case, Emiya Shirou, your noble desire to protect others brings with it the base need for there to be a clear evil for you oppose. So you too should rejoice at being chosen to fight as a Master in the Holy Grail Wars."

And then at last Kotomine turned his attention to Ayaka, causing Shirou to feel as if an oppressive weight had been lifted from his shoulder. "And what of you, Sajyou Ayaka? Will you take part as a Master in the Holy Grail War and perhaps bring your late father and sister's dreams to fruition? Or will you throw away the blessing that the Grail has given you?"

For a moment, Ayaka was sure that she was going to refuse, to renounce her rights as a Master. She had never wanted to get caught up in the War. But no, she was tired of running away and living in fear. She would stand her ground and strike back against those who would try to kill her. And she would make sure that nobody unleashed the same sort of horrors from the Grail as someone had ten years ago, even if it meant fighting Rin or Shirou along the way.

"I'll…" she started. The words threatened to get choked in her throat, but she steeled herself and forced them out before she could second-guess herself again. "I will be a Master in the Holy Grail War!"

"Then I declare the 5th Holy Grail War to have officially begun."

 **xXx**

Upon exiting the church, Ayaka and Shirou were both relieved to see that their Servants had kept their word and hadn't started a fight while they spoke to Kotomine, but the air seemed tense between them. Saber remained quiet as she looked over to Shirou for a sign of his decision, leaving Caster to break the silence.

"So you decided that you're going to keep being my Master," he stated.

"Yes," Ayaka confirmed.

"That's good. If you had come out here and severed our pact I probably would have killed you myself. I don't like cowards or those who would trample my pride. I'll admit that I was worried for a bit, but it seems that you're made of sterner stuff than I first gave you credit for, Master. So what are your orders?"

She turned to Shirou. "We should part here. Since I've committed myself to the Holy Grail War, that means we'll have to fight each other eventually, but I'd rather not do so now."

"That may be so, but I meant it when I said that I don't want to kill any Masters, Sajyou. Besides, we'll both have to cross the bridge anyway to get back to Miyama Town. We can stick together until we get there. Besides, it's dangerous for a girl to be walking around the city at this time of night."

"I can take care of myself!" she shot back. While he probably meant well, she didn't want to show any more weakness in front of him now that she had resolved to fight. "I'm a far more capable Magus than you are and I have Caster with me! You should worry more about yourself."

"That's true, but won't it be safer if we go together?"

Why was he so insistent about this?

"Look, Sajyou, I now know that you have every reason to hate what my father did as the Magus Killer. I didn't even know about any of it until tonight… But he still saved me and me taught me the importance of helping others. And before he died, I made a promise to him, to live up to the ideal that he couldn't reach in his stead. So please, let me help you."

"Or maybe you like her, kid."

"What?" Ayaka felt her face turn a deep red at her Servant's impertinent remark. That couldn't be! They were barely more than acquaintances… albeit acquaintances who had both happened to survive the Great Fuyuki Fire and then gotten thrown together into the 5th Holy Grail War. Surely he'd be more interested in a girl like Tohsaka Rin, or that underclassman he seemed friendly with, Matou Sakura (whom she knew to be Rin's biological sister, for the Sajyou had moved to Fuyuki prior to Sakura's adoption, though she never spoke of this as Rin had made it clear that the topic was not to be brought up).

"It's not like that," Shirou affirmed to her relief.

"If you say so," Caster shrugged.

And now she was tired of arguing, so she told Shirou, "Fine. You can come along. Let's get going."

 **xXx**

The trip back through Shinto was uneventful, and both Shirou and Ayaka were quiet. The tension between them had eased somewhat, but they were both still somewhat embarrassed from Caster's antics and ruminating on what had been said inside Kotomine Church

But when they reached the park on the Miyama side of the bridge, where they would have split up, they found that someone was waiting for them, a small girl with pale silvery hair wearing a warm purple coat and hat. She looked harmless at a glance, but Ayaka nonetheless felt gripped by a sudden sense of déjà vu and fear. And when she saw the girl's red eyes, she knew at once what the girl was – an Einzbern homunculus.

"Good evening, brother. And good evening to you too, Sajyou Ayaka. I didn't expect to find both of you together. My name is Illyasviel von Einzbern."

Ayaka's instincts were screaming at her to run, but she couldn't do that. She had committed to being a Master, and with a thought Caster materialized at her side.

"I'm pleased to see that you've both summoned Servants," Ilyasviel continued, sounding genuinely happy. "It wouldn't be much fun if you couldn't fight back. But even so, both of your Servants at once will be no match for Berserker!"

And then it appeared, a hulking figure wielding a massive stone sword, surely capable of cutting them in two (and for a moment Ayaka saw a vivid image of her bisected corpse lying on the pavement in her mind's eye) or even smashing or crushing them with its bare fists. It wore little armor, save for tassets around its waist and what looked like manacles around its wrists and ankles, but its skin seemed quite tough, like it was armor itself. And its wild mane of hair and glowing red eye were testaments to its madness, as was the overwhelming killing intent that radiated from it, somehow held in check for now by Illyasviel.

"Get them, Berserker!"

"_!" Berserker roared.

The monster lunged forward, moving faster than a truck, and for a moment Ayaka thought that it was the end for her and Shirou, but his Servant moved swiftly, meeting Berserker's huge sword with her own invisible blade, straining with all of her might against it.

"Let's go, Master!" Caster urged. "Saber will keep Berserker occupied for a few minutes. Use that time to strike!" And with that he quickly traced the rune Algiz into the air, followed by Ehwaz and a third rune that she didn't recognize, and held out his staff, using it as a Mystic Code to amplify their effects. The runes glowed briefly with power for a moment before fading, and Ayaka felt that power settle upon her, creating a defensive Bounded Field around her person and Reinforcing her body, granting her increased durability and agility.

"It's crude, but I don't have time to fashion some more permanent protection for you now." He turned to leap into the fray. "Just stay clear of Berserker, Master – the Field won't last long against his blows, and while it will soften them, they may still be strong enough to seriously injure or kill you outright if you're unlucky."

And then Caster was off. But he called his Bounded Field and Reinforcement crude? He had accomplished in moments something that would have been a complex task for her, if she could even create a Field remotely of such quality at all, and Rin would probably have to use up some of her precious jewels to make something comparable, which would probably still fall short of Caster's work. It just went to show how much greater the mysteries of old were to the Magecraft of the modern era. As Caster's Master, she could sense that there was Divinity within him, and during the Age of the Gods Magecraft had been even more powerful still, coming close to True Magic. Yet Caster himself seemed to be but a demigod, and from what she knew of the rune-using cultures, their most famous heroes had lived around the twilight of that age or shortly after it had passed.

"_!" Berserker roared again as he saw Caster moving toward him, snapping Ayaka's attention back to the fight at hand.

Right. If she could beat Illyasviel while Saber and Caster kept Berserker occupied, they could pull through this. On her own, she had no doubts that Illyasviel could beat her in a straight fight, but she was protected by Caster, and that gave her hope. And so she darted forward and to the side with supernatural speed, leaving Shirou behind to helplessly look on as the three Heroic Spirits fought, with Saber weaving in and out of Berserker's range as she tried to land a decisive blow, and Caster conjuring a wall of flames and displaying impressive agility as well to deliver some heavy strikes with his staff, though they barely seemed to faze Berserker.

"So you're bringing the fight to me?" Illyasviel asked as she saw Ayaka's approach. "Then let's see how you deal with these!" she shouted, conjuring a pair of silvery bird familars.

Ayaka was ready for a trick like that, and quickly fired a storm of feathers at them. It was a direct hit, shredding one of the familiars and causing it to explode. The other counterattacked, but Ayaka swiftly leapt to the side and then destroyed it with another volley.

"Impressive. I guess I'll have to add some more," Illya said, pulling some more strands of hair from her head and creating _four_ familars.

Now Ayaka found herself hard-pressed, even with Caster's enhancements. With the amount of crossfire coming at her from the familars, she was forced to seek cover. The Bounded Field around her absorbed what would have been several deadly hits, but she knew that it couldn't last forever, and whenever she managed to shoot down one of Illyasviel's familiars her opponent simply made another one almost effortlessly. It was clear that Illyasviel remained on a completely different level than her as a Magus, and that she would eventually wear her defenses down and triumph when Ayaka tired and depleted her prana.

"_!" Berserker bellowed in pain as Saber managed to run him through and Caster followed up by leaping high into the air and crushing Berserker's skull under a strike empowered by his runes. Ayaka couldn't believe it. Had they won?

"You managed to kill Berserker two times?" Illya asked in annoyance. "Well it doesn't matter: my Berserker is Hercules, and he has one life for each of the twelve labors that he performed. Now get back up and kill them, Berserker!"

And already, Berserker was regenerating, the hole in his chest sealing itself and his skull rapidly reforming. And then he was back into the fight, and launched Saber back with a savage blow, causing her to land with enough force to put a small crater into the park's brick path. And now it looked like Shirou was about to do something incredibly stupid, as he moved to put himself between Berserker and Saber. Didn't he realize that he would just get himself killed and that Saber would then disappear shortly thereafter?

But suddenly, a knife flew through the air, seemingly from out of nowhere, heading directly for Illya, only to be shot out of the air by one of her familiars at the last moment. And then there was another, and Berserker immediately returned to Illya's side, protecting her from the attack with his massive body. The Masters could sense killing intent all around them as Illyasviel's attackers moved from the their concealment, white skull masks gleaming in the night.

Assassin?

It had to be Assassin. But there were now dozens of Assassins around them, and none of them looked the same as the one who had tried to kill Ayaka earlier that night. But something else was wrong, for malevolently glowing red veins were etched across their dark figures and their once pristine masks.

Saber was even more dumbfounded than Ayaka and her Master. She recognized these Assassins: they were the same ones that she had encountered during the 4th Holy Grail War. How could they have persisted for ten years? Incarnation? But she too sensed that there was something terribly wrong with them, that the Servants before her had somehow been corrupted and bent to the will of an evil power.

One of the Assassins, a female with long hair, emerged from the group while the others engaged Berserker, forcing him to keep defending Illya, and stepped toward Shirou. But the Assassin did not attack, and began speaking.

"Master of Saber and his ally: retreat now with your Servants if you value your lives. It would displease our Master greatly if you were to die here."


	7. Tiger Dojo 3: ImpulseA Friend

**Tiger Dojo #3: Impulse/A Friend**

Ayaka knew that she should run, but her body felt rooted to the spot. It wasn't as strong as it had been ten years ago, but she sensed that same evil within the Assassins, and once again she was a helpless and terrified young girl.

No. She had promised herself that she would fight. And if they were part of the evil that she had witnessed before she would destroy them without mercy.

"Caster! Come to my side and defeat those Servants!" she shouted, preparing to use a Command Spell to imbue Caster with her determination.

But before the command could be finished, Ayaka felt a sharp pain in her chest, and looking down she could see one of the Assassin's daggers embedded between her breasts, right where her Command Spells were. Had Caster's Bounded Field failed? Or was the attack simply too close for the Field to have fully protected her from it? In any case, she could see crimson blood starting to stain her blouse, and, feeling faint, she collapsed to the ground.

"Your survival is not required, Sajyou Ayaka," the Assassin told her, its once cold demeanor being replaced by a sadistic glee.

"Master!"

Ayaka saw Caster rushing to her side, but more Assassins appeared to intercept him. He blasted them with a bolt of flame from his staff, scorching them from existence in moments as the fire ravenously consumed their bodies. But her own lifeblood was draining rapidly too, and with a roar Berserker finished off the last of the Assassins attacking Illyasviel and charged toward Caster before he could try to heal her.

"Sajyou!" a voice cried out, and there was Emiya Shirou by her side, while Saber got up again to challenge Berserker once more. "You're really hurt! He started to frantically pull at his jacket, as if he could use it as a makeshift bandage to stanch the bleeding.

Weakly, she raised a hand and pushed him away. "It's too late for me, Emiya. Just run, and save whom you can: yourself. This has been my fate for a long time."

"Don't say that! I'm not letting anyone else die!"

She shook her head. "Idiot."

It was funny. She had avoided Emiya Shirou and loathed everything that she thought he stood for, but in the end he was a decent guy. Maybe she was the real idiot.

 **DEAD END**

…

…

…

Opening her eyes, Ayaka found herself in the mysterious Tiger Dojo once more. But something was different this time. A young man was next to her: Emiya Shirou.

"You died too?" she asked.

"That's why you're both here," Ms. Fujimura called out, still in her kendo uniform. "As I've said before, normally it would just be Shirou here, but ever since our new heroine started showing up, it just made more sense to discuss your shared Dead Ends together."

"Oh, hi Fuji-nee."

"Wait for me, Sensei!" Manaka's voice called out as she hurried over into the dojo. She had changed her clothes since Ayaka's last visit, donning a smaller version of the kendo uniform that Ms. Fujimura wore. Ayaka thought that it suited her sister surprisingly well.

"Hi, sister," Manaka said cheerfully. She paused and looked over to Shirou, an appraising expression forming on her face. After a moment she frowned and asked, "Is he your boyfriend?"

"N-No!" Ayaka spluttered. First Caster and now her sister! Why were they making such assumptions?

"He's barely even a Magus."

"I'll admit to that."

Closing her eyes as if in deep thought, Manaka continued, "he actually has considerably more Magic Circuits than you do, sister, at twenty-seven to your twenty, but they're of such low quality that each can only hold a few units of prana without burning out. And he doesn't even have a Magic Crest." Annoyance flashed across her delicate features. "It's no wonder that Saber is crippled with a Master such as him!"

"Now, Student, remember that our job is to help them avoid their Dead Ends," Ms. Fujimura cut in nervously.

"Of course, Sensei," Manaka replied, suddenly offering a bright smile. "It pains me to see my sister keep stumbling like this, and if Shirou dies Saber will vanish, so I'll do everything in my power to help them."

She stepped forward, and Shirou couldn't help but be reminded of Illyasviel. Manaka looked young, and if he hadn't known otherwise he would have sworn that Ayaka was older by several years. Yet in spite of her small frame, he could sense that she was very powerful, just as Illyasviel had proven herself to be. She was smiling now, but he had the feeling that if he were to upset her further she could easily wipe him from existence.

"Sister, while being reckless might work for your friend over there, you must remember that sometimes discretion is the better part of valor," Manaka explained. "Use the opportunity created by the Assassins to escape instead of trying to take them on." She turned to Shirou, "As for you, my sister has chosen to fight in the Holy Grail War, but if she freezes up under pressure make sure that she snaps out of it." She turned back to Ayaka. "And lastly, don't let him do anything stupid that gets him killed." She paused, and gave Shirou another smile. "If you manage all of that, I might forgive you. But my little sister is still off-limits. She deserves better than you."

Shirou and Ayaka both flushed red once again, and it was a moment before either of them could gather their composure enough to speak.

"I promise that I'll protect your sister," Shirou said solemnly. "And I'm not interested in her in that sort of way."

Manaka eyed him suspiciously, and then was angry again. "Don't make promises that you can't keep! You can't even protect yourself! If you could you wouldn't be here!"

Ayaka was going to come to Shirou's defense, to say how he had already helped save her from the Assassin who had broken into her house and how he had stayed by her side even through their final moments. But her sister's presence was overpowering, and she found that she could not speak against Manaka here.

Ms. Fujimura stepped between Shirou and Manaka. "My, you're both so dramatic tonight. But our time with them is almost up. So let's say goodbye to them for now, Student."

"Okay," Manaka replied, her cheerful disposition returning. "Take care, sister!" she said with a wave. "And we'll see if you can live up to your promise, Shirou!"

The Dojo was fading away from both Shirou and Ayaka now, and they from each other. Ayaka frowned for a moment. She still didn't see Shirou in the way that her Servant and her sister had suggested, but perhaps she could call him a friend now. Yet in a few moments they would simply be allies of convenience against Illyasviel and Berserker once more as she forgot the events leading up to her arrival at the Tiger Dojo.

And then she only knew darkness.


End file.
